Most architects lack a roofer’s eye. While a roofer delights in the sight of a simple uninterrupted gable, architects entertain flights of fancy: they come up with butterfly roofs, or flat roofs surrounded by parapets and scuppers, or complicated roofs interrupted by multiple valleys and dormers From a roofer’s perspective, the ideal roof is a simple gable or saltbox without any valleys, chimneys, dormers, or skylights. The pitch is fairly steep—say, between 4-in-12 and 12-in-12. (A steep pitch reduces the chance that frisbees, tennis balls, and leaves will accumulate on the roof, and a steep pitch speeds up a raindrop’s descent. Steep-pitched roofs are always more forgiving of minor leaks than shallow-pitched roofs.) The ideal roof has wide overhangs on all four sides—at the eaves as well as the rakes. Some roofers like to see gutters at the eaves; others—especially those who live in cold, snowy climates—disdain gutters, since gutters often contribute to ice dams.
